skydiving accident

Unidentified man killed after crashing into home in Perris, Calif.

(Newser) -
A skydiver was killed after he slammed into the roof of a California home Monday afternoon after it appeared his main parachute didn't open, KABC reports. "He hit the roof pretty hard," a witness says, adding that the unidentified man's orange emergency chute, which didn't...
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They slammed into tree and light pole during charity event, but both are OK

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A skydiving Santa looking to make a grand entrance while taking an Elf on the Shelf to a 9-year-old girl crashed into a tree and light pole before hitting a Florida beach and breaking his leg, the AP reports. News outlets say George Krokus was dressed as Santa Claus during...
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It wasn't the first time he tried to kill her, prosecutors allege

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On a cloudy day in 2015, British army sergeant Emile Cilliers offered to take his wife skydiving as a treat. It turned out to be anything but. Victoria Cilliers, who'd previously taken part in 2,600 skydives, was helpless when both her main and reserve parachutes failed, sending her...
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Costansa Litellini was 'moments too late' to save her husband

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Costansa Litellini ran into Florida's Skydive DeLand on Tuesday begging them not to let her husband go up in a plane, the Orlando Sentinel reports. But the plane, with 27-year-old Capotorto Vitantonio inside, had already taken off. Vitantonio's body was found face down in a field a short...
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Rescue crews had to help skydiver out of tree

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Rescue crews in New Jersey freed a skydiver who got stuck in a tree and was dangling 70 feet above the ground, the AP reports. Emergency crews in Gloucester County got a call around 5pm Tuesday saying the skydiver had crashed into the trees in Monroe Township. Per NJ.com...
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Texas teen Makenzie Wethington says parachute malfunctioned

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A Texas girl whose 16th birthday present almost killed her has been awarded $760,000—more than $200 for each of the approximately 3,500 feet she plunged after her parachute malfunctioned. Makenzie Wethington, now 19, suffered internal injuries as well as a broken pelvis, lumbar spine, and shoulder blade...
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FAA is still investigating deaths of Yong Kwon, Tyler Turner

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The director of an organization that certifies skydivers said Thursday that the instructor who led a tandem jump in Northern California that turned fatal didn't have the required advanced parachuting certificate, the AP reports. The Federal Aviation Administration requires tandem-jump instructors to receive training and a certificate from the...
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Skydiving deaths are rare

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One of the two skydivers who was killed in California on Saturday after a parachute didn't open during a tandem jump was an 18-year-old first-time jumper who had family members watching from the ground as he plummeted thousands of feet to his death, the AP reports. The other victim...
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'It looks like ... something may have gone out of sequence'

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Two skydivers were killed Saturday during a tandem jump in northern California, reports the AP . Their bodies were found in a Lodi-area vineyard after someone reported that the skydivers hit the ground without an open parachute, San Joaquin County Sheriff's Deputy Les Garcia said. It appeared the parachute did...
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'She came completely out of whatever and dropped to the ground'

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Sheralynn Neff took part in at least five skydives over the weekend, so her last on Sunday should have been routine, reports the Hutchinson News . Instead, the 26-year-old's parachute landed without her. Crews in Cushing, Okla., searched for 16 hours before discovering the body of the Kansas woman—whom...
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Pair apparently hit building near Cape Cod Airfield

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The Federal Aviation Administration and local authorities are probing the deaths of two skydivers yesterday evening. The instructor and student, both adult males, were found next to a garage across the street from the Cape Cod Airfield, reports NECN . "We responded to the scene and we observed two people—...
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Crash is Finland's worst air disaster in decades

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Three people, including the pilot, managed to jump to safety using parachutes when a plane carrying skydivers experienced trouble over western Finland; another eight were killed when the aircraft crashed and caught fire, the BBC reports. Witnesses saw the three jump from the American-made Comp Air 8 light utility aircraft...
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Parachute failed during 222-person jump

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Another attempt to smash a skydiving world record has ended in tragedy. One of 222 skydivers from 28 countries died as the team attempted to free-fall from 18,000 feet and come together in two formations before pulling their parachutes, reports the Arizona Republic . The woman, a 46-year-old from...
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Mackenzie Wethington recovering after skydiving accident

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An absolutely amazing story out of Oklahoma, where a Texas 16-year-old survived a 3,500-foot fall in a skydiving mishap—and didn't even require any surgery for her injuries. Mackenzie Wethington, who went skydiving Saturday as a birthday present from her parents, slammed into the ground, yet somehow only...
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Brandon McGraw dead in Australian skydiving accident

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A Marine and his wife were in Australia last week on a trip they won on Ellen DeGeneres' show in January, but it ended in tragedy when the Marine was killed in a skydiving accident. Cherilyn McGraw made a tandem jump in Euroa, north of Melbourne, on Saturday, but husband...
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Arizona group was trying to break formation record

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Two skydivers were killed and another injured last night in a midair collision involving members of a group trying to smash formation skydiving records in Arizona. Witnesses say the skydivers were 200 to 300 feet above the ground when they collided, causing them to fall to the ground as their...
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Witnesses say wing broke off plane in Belgium

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A plane carrying parachutists for a skydiving trip crashed in southern Belgium today, killing all 11 people aboard, officials say. Minutes after the aircraft took off from a small airfield near the city of Namur, witnesses saw part of a wing break off, sending the plane into a spiraling nosedive...
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Equipment malfunction eyed in crash that killed instructor

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A skydiving teacher in Mississippi was killed and the student he was on a tandem jump with was critically injured after an apparent equipment malfunction. Other skydivers said there appeared to be some "entanglement with the lines" before the pair crashed into a remote swamp, the local sheriff tells...
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Icelandic instructor, student die in Florida jump

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Authorities probing the deaths of two men in a skydiving accident in Florida on Saturday hope a helmet camera worn by one of them will provide some clues, Tampa Bay Online reports. The instructor and student, both from Iceland, were found dead in a wooded area about a mile from...
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Laverne Everett takes a scary skydive in California

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Octogenarian skydiving won't exactly catch on after this video goes viral. Laverne Everett was celebrating birthday No. 80 with her first skydive when, at the last second, she became reluctant to jump, Huffington Post reports. The man going with her pushed Everett out, and the pair tumbled out over...
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